Jürgen Gerhards (2014): Why the EU should Change its Language Policy. Making the Case for Promoting English as Europe’s Lingua Franca. BSSE Working Paper No. 32. Berlin: Freie Universität Berlin.

Abstract:

The 28 European Union member states have 24 different official languages. While the EU seeks homogenisation and convergence of the member states in many policy areas this does not apply to its language policy. The present article discusses six arguments why the European language policy should be changed and the use of English as a lingua franca be encouraged.